Education
Our education system in North America is obviously not working well. At
best, it barely prepares young people for present and future challenging
times. At worst, it is expensive baby-sitting or worse still, a meeting
place for bad influences. Trends in society see a reduction in effect of
family and community. There is a corresponding rise in the influence of
manipulative commercial enterprise which strives to divide the populace,
especially the young, into market targets dedicated to self-indulgence.
This is compounded by the 20th century North American intellectual infatuation
with self-expression and newness for its own sake. As a result we are seeing
a disintegration of society and a sense of rootlessness and hopelessness
in the most pampered and educated part of the world and period of history.
Our current schooling system is not addressing these problems and may be
promoting the unfortunate trends and spending a vast amount of money doing
it. I would like to suggest something completely different for our high
schools. The elementary schools should continue to do more or less what
they are doing - training in basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic
plus, of course, societal skills of co-operation and co-ordination.
Our high schools take human beings from approximately the age of 12 to 18
and coop them up in rigid structure. Adolescence is the most vital, volatile
period for any of the higher animals. We should not be surprised at the
stresses and strains that occur when we treat our young humans as we do.
I would totally change the structure and get rid of the four walls concept
both physically and psychologically. I would have the students spend at
least half of their time out in the world. A large portion of this would
be outdoor education activity - back-packing, canoe-tripping and having
adventures in nature in the "Outward Bound" direction, but not
normally as risky. This, and all other outdoor activities would be done
in small groups of 10 to 20, preferably no more than 15, led by one or two
good adult role models. This would fulfill our need as a higher social animal
to relate to a pack or troop. I have participated as a teacher in student
canoe trips and have seen the transformation of a troublesome, anti-social
youth into a co-operative, self-confident one within one week. In outdoor
education you not only learn about nature, you learn about
yourself, your limits and your relationship with others. Sports would fit
into this area as well.
The remainder of the "out in the world" time would be spent in
community work helping and volunteering along the lines of the "Peace
Corps" and CUSO (Canadian University Students Overseas). In addition,
students would be placed as helpers or apprentices in every possible activity
of the adult world. They might learn some skills and they would certainly
get a feel for the real world of work in its various forms. At present,
many teenagers' sense of the adult world comes from watching such role models
as Rambo and Madonna. In all other cultures and periods of history, young
people mingle with adults and have a chance to experience the real working
world. Our society has compartmentalized people for convenience. This is
not healthy, and even dangerous but it would be hard to change and would
need plenty of flexibility from business and labour unions, including teachers'
unions.
The other half of students' time would be academic and divided into two
parts. The first part would be based on a "guru" system. Students
with an inclination toward biochemistry or computer graphics or poetry or
French or astronomy or carpentry or whatever else would gather around an
expert and work together on projects and the acquisition of skills. This
learning experience could take place in store fronts or living rooms or
corners of any variety of existing buildings and the gurus would not necessarily
need a teaching certificate. They could be paid by vouchers and the teaching
would likely be only a part of their lives. There could be testing to assure
standards.
The remaining portion of students' time would be devoted to their cultural
and environmental heritage. For tens of thousands of years this has been
a natural evolution, information passed on from generation to generation
so that individuals felt they had a place in the world and in society. Ordinary
members of hunting and gathering tribes can name almost all of the plants
and animals around them. In tropical rain forests the list runs into the
thousands. The indigenous peoples understand the relationships between living
things. In fact, these people are more sophisticated ecologists than professors
of ecology. How many species of local plants and animals can our North American
citizens name? How can we preserve and protect our natural heritage if we
do not even notice it? Knowledge in this area would be worthwhile even on
the basis of enjoyment and the enrichment of peoples' lives. The teaching
of it would be easy as I have shown in my own classroom. Entertaining slide
lectures are given on identification of species. Rapid reviews and tests
complete the process and reinforcement continues from year to year. This
can be done with very little investment of time and in relatively large
groups and if the teacher is lively enough, the students find it fun and
very satisfying.
I would apply the same technique to our cultural heritage of art, music,
prose, poetry (even memorization) as well as pivotal points in history and
geography. In regions with multi-cultural groups, the heritage of all the
cultures would be addressed by all. This heritage learning would be compulsory
for every student. At the present time our civilization is in danger of
collapse due to the dedication of self expression and the influence of commercial
television. A continuous chain stretching back for centuries is being broken
in our generation. I believe it is worth saving and it could be done with
little time and trouble.
My proposals are admittedly radical but I feel that something drastic needs
to be done with the present mess. It gets worse each year in spite of all
the ideas and experiments of the educational research priesthood. Huge amounts
of money are spent and wasted on a top-heavy administrative system that
seems to take an industrial approach to students. Just like industrial chickens
and cattle we have tried for economy of scale and have found it very expensive
not only for plant and equipment but in psychological terms. The human spirit
is at risk. The very least we could do is to break up into small groups
- small schools and small class sizes.
I submit my ideas as a beginning which could lead to a richer, more successful
life for this generation and generations to come. An impossible plan? Perhaps,
but surely an improvement on what we have.
Robert Bateman
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